


an adventure

by SidewaysClarinet



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, more secret santa stuff!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:02:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28414350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SidewaysClarinet/pseuds/SidewaysClarinet
Summary: Renzou has been sneaking out of their room.
Relationships: Miwa Konekomaru/Shima Renzou
Comments: 5
Kudos: 7
Collections: Ao no Exorcist Secret Santa 2020





	an adventure

**Author's Note:**

  * For [AlextheAlright](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlextheAlright/gifts).



> hihi! More Renneko nonsense <3 This is for Alex! I hope you enjoy!!

Renzou has been sneaking out of their room.

He’s so completely unsubtle about it that Konekomaru has to wonder if he’s even trying at all to sneak, or even just to be anything but obvious about it. He always goes when Konekomaru is busy studying, or hunched over a book by the window. He leaves with a smile and a wave, and the assurance that he’s just going out to the store, or to the library to pick up a book.

Konekomaru laughed to himself the first time he heard that one; Renzou willingly going out of his way to read a book was about as likely as hell itself freezing over. But, he initially just brushes it off as spy business that Renzou is doing, and never really questions it any further. The seat by the window only grows more comfortable as autumn moves in, and it’s not as if he really wants to leave his warm cocoon to go track his wayward friend down.

That is, until it becomes pretty blatantly obvious that what Renzou is doing can’t possibly be spy business. He knows because the other boy is always back within a few hours, or at least before the sun sets. His cheeks are always pink and rosy from the cold afternoon air, and there’s a type of genuine serenity to his smile that can’t possibly coexist with the post-Illuminati-mission-Renzou that he knows, and is well aware of.

(Post-Illuminati-mission-Renzou is always vacant in the eyes, tight around the smile. He stays up into the late hours of the night when he thinks Konekomaru is already asleep, and sometimes he can just barely hear Renzou on the phone, talking with his brothers about everything and nothing at all. There is always something vulnerable in Renzou’s voice during those calls, and something gentler in the tones of Juuzou, Kinzou, Gouzou, and Jun, when he hears them.)

But this Renzou is happier and carefree in a way that normal Renzou futilely tries to imitate. Konekomaru almost wonders if Renzou has some sort of boyfriend or girlfriend that he’s visiting during these times, because that would certainly explain his almost stupidly cheerful mood. 

It’s after one such outing of Renzou’s that Konekomaru can’t exactly quiet his curiosity, and so, when his friend comes back into their shared dorm room, he asks.

“Hey, Shima-san?” he calls, earning a hum in response as Renzou starts peeling his coat and gloves off. “Where exactly is it that you’re going? I know it’s not the library or to the store, and it can’t be missions, either.”

Renzou hesitates a bit when he hangs his coat up, and though he tries to play it off, Konekomaru had already seen it. Konekomaru’s eyebrows raise a bit as he watches the other boy ruffle through his drawers for his pajamas, a little surprised when no answer comes forth. He slips a bookmark into the pages of his book and sets it down, shifting a bit in his mass of blankets to see Renzou better.

“Shima-san?”

“It’s nothin’, really!” Renzou says, finally. He yanks his shirt up and off, and Konekomaru politely averts his eyes as he changes into his sleepwear. “Just, y’know, uh… explorin’ campus.”

“Exploring campus?” Konekomaru repeats, a bit confused. “We’ve lived here for almost three years now?”

“Well, y’know! Just wanted to check things out before the end of the year, aha!”

Ah, there it is. Konekomaru’s suspicion and concern melts, giving way for a fond sort of amusement. Renzou’s attempts to dodge the conversation aren’t out of fear, or apprehension; no, there’s a sort of embarrassed flush to his cheeks now.

“Shima-san,” he says, voice warm. Renzou avoids his eyes, but knows he can’t slip away when Konekomaru uses that tone with him. “What’s going on? Just tell me, I won’t judge.”

Renzou kicks at the floor a bit, scuffing his socks against the carpet in an attempt to vent off embarrassed energy. It only makes Konekomaru want to laugh. What is his friend being so silly for? He’d never been one to judge Renzou, not even when he had all rights to, so to see him being so evasive was a special kind of ridiculous.

“It’s nothin’, really,” Renzou mutters, flush deepening.

Konekomaru doesn’t say anything, only waits patiently and quietly for him to give up and confess. It takes a few seconds, but Renzou eventually caves.

“...I just, y’know… I like walkin’ around in the afternoon because there ain’t any bugs out in the fall.”

At that, Konekomaru blinks. He’s a bit surprised, really— that had been all that Renzou was trying to avoid with such embarrassment? It’s almost funny to him! What was so bad about wanting to walk around without bugs in the area? He does end up giggling a bit, though he quickly slaps a hand over his mouth to muffle himself at Renzou’s offended look.

“What?” he asks, defensive.

“That’s it? That’s all you were doing?” Konekomaru barely manages to keep the giggles in, but a few end up slipping out anyways. “I thought it was something serious!”

“Well-” Renzou cuts himself off, cheeks darkening. “Everyone always makes fun of me for bein’ scared of bugs, so- y’know!”

Okay, well, that part is true. Konekomaru stops laughing at that, but his smile is still wide enough to almost make his cheeks hurt. “There’s nothing wrong with that, Shima-san. You don’t have to sneak around like someone’s going to arrest you for walking.”

“Well, it really feels like it when everyone jumps on me about it,” he mutters, a bit petulantly. 

“But we’re getting better about that, aren’t we?” Konekomaru asks, as both a reminder and a genuine question. It had taken some time for them to realize that Renzou’s phobia was more than just silly nervousness, and even longer to realize that the jokes they had made were genuinely hurtful to Renzou. It was an ongoing process to get better, and Konekomaru couldn’t exactly fault Renzou for being nervous about the possible teasing.

Renzou nods, seeming a bit more relieved when he’s sure that he’s being understood. “Yeah, I guess you are.”

“So there’s nothing wrong with it,” Konekomaru says, gently. He leans against the wall, and shifts to a more lighthearted topic. “Do you see anything interesting out there?”

Renzou blinks a bit, a little surprised, but the tension in his shoulders eases at the change in conversation. He plops down on his bed, then, and spreads out on his stomach to face Konekomaru to continue their talking. His eyes seem to light up again at the chance to talk.

“Well, y’know, it’s the same old True Cross,” he says, trying to seem casual, but the smile pulling at his lips betrays him. “But I’ve been lookin’ around the woods, y’know, and it’s really pretty, dude. We couldn’t really see it back in our first year, but Jesus, man, there’s so much to look at! There’s even this creek that runs through the middle and all, and I was seein’ some frogs around there before everything got cold.”

Konekomaru nods along, entranced. It’s a mundane topic of conversation, but Renzou’s excitement makes it much more lively. “Now that you mention it, I guess we didn’t get to look at it much. Would you mind if I joined you some time?”

“Do you wanna go now?” Renzou asks, suddenly. His grin is widening.

Konekomaru’s eyes widen a bit at the sudden question, and he glances out the window at the ever-lowering sunset. “It’s going to be dark soon, Shima-san.”

“So?” Renzou counters, leaning up on the bed in one swift motion. “It’ll be fun! Like a late night adventure!”

“That doesn’t sound like a very safe idea,” he tries, but he can’t deny that Renzou’s energy is utterly infectious. 

“Oh, it’ll be fine!” His friend says, dismissively. “I got Yamantaka, and you have your arias! We’ll be totally cool, we can just go explore the outskirts! We don’t have to go deep into it.”

He knows he really should say no, because even if the sun weren’t setting, they still did have class early the next morning. So close to graduation, he knew that they should be focusing on final exams and finishing off their classes, but… Renzou gives him that little wide-eyed pleading look, and he feels his reluctance slipping away.”

“Oh, alright,” he concedes. Renzou leaps off the bed and cheers. “But just for a few hours, alright? No big adventures!”

“You got it! You won’t regret this dude, I promise!”

_ Well, that’s yet to be seen,  _ he thinks to himself, slipping out of his blankets and onto the carpeted floor. He slips across the room in fuzzy socks and starts pulling sweaters down from his closet, knowing he’ll need to bundle up in order to stay warm in the cold night. He layers on two of them and a jacket, and when he goes to reach for his beanie, a tanned hand snatches it up first.

Renzou is already bundled up, and when Konekomaru goes to see what exactly he’s doing with the beanie, Renzou leans down to delicately but securely pull it down over Konekomaru’s head. He adjusts it with the utmost care, making sure that Konekomaru’s glasses aren’t caught in the knitted fabric of the hat, and then leans back with a grin. Konekomaru watches him, a little surprised, as Renzou reaches out to grab his gloves to hand them over.

“What’s got you so excited?” Konekomaru asks, amused, as he pulls his gloves on over his fingers. Renzou is pulling scarves out, as well, pulling one around his own neck before leaning down to tie another around Konekomaru’s.

“It’s just really pretty out there!” Renzou gushes. “You’re gonna love it so much. There’s even a surprise on our way back!”

“A surprise?” He raises an eyebrow, but Renzou is already escorting him out of their dorm, shutting the lights off behind them and securely locking the door.

Konekomaru lets him, and instead looks down the darkened hallways. Most everyone is already sequestered away to sleep for the night, and the thrill of going out so late makes adrenaline pick up in his veins. It’s exciting to be, well, not necessarily sneaking out, but certainly going out after normal hours to do so. He understands why Renzou is so high energy.

They leave the hallway quietly, taking the stairs down to the first floor and bursting out the doors with a giggle. There’s enough light that they can make their way through the streets easily, off to the section of the woods just by the dorm. Renzou takes the lead, confidently following along an unseen path through the trees and deeper into the forest.

“You know, if anyone’s been seeing you come out here, they probably thought you were coming for a drug deal,” he comments idly, shoving his hands deep into his jacket pockets. He knows that it must look a little suspicious—two teenage boys sneaking off into the woods just before dark, giggling and sticking close together like they had something to hide. 

“Like we have the money for that,” Renzou snickers, brushing a branch out of the way for the both of them. “Lemme just grab a couple hundred dollars from our families’ savings.”

Konekomaru laughs at that.

The path isn’t too treacherous, but rocky enough that Renzou reaches a hand out behind him for Konekomaru to take. He appreciates the gesture; one glance at a steep path down to a rain-carved ravine makes him intimately aware of how disastrous just one fall could be. He holds onto Renzou’s hand tightly, looking around the forest as they walk before suddenly his fingers are squeezed. 

He looks up at Renzou, though his friend is barely hiding a mischievous smile. Konekomaru rolls his eyes and grins, squeezing Renzou’s fingers in response. It starts off a silly war of gripping each other’s hands and giggling as they do so, too caught up in their silent battle to even look at the scenery of the forest. They only stop when Renzou’s fingers pop and he dramatically cries out for mercy, fighting down a grin to keep the wounded act up.

“I think you broke them,” he whines, pathetically. He pulls his hand free and holds it up to his chest, pulling a wounded puppy-dog look when Konekomaru gives him a hard stare. “Kiss it better?”

“Oh, you’re ridiculous!” Konekomaru laughs. He snatches Renzou’s hand up to press an equally dramatic kiss to his fingers, glancing up at his friend’s chill-reddened cheeks that only seem to darken. 

“Another one?” he asks. “For the road.”

“If you want the kiss so bad, just say so,” Konekomaru says mildly, but gives another one to Renzou’s gloved fingers anyways. 

“You’re offering?” Renzou asks, smiling. “Then I do have a request.”

Konekomaru raises an eyebrow, and ignores the flutter in his chest. “Let me guess, your lips are cold and you need warming up?”

Renzou laughs, but he doesn’t deny it. “What? They are!”

“You’re so predictable,” Konekomaru chides. Even so, Renzou isn’t backing down, and he supposes he isn’t either. It’s a stretch to reach his friend’s face, but Renzou meets him halfway down, and their lips finally connect.

What Renzou has in experience, Konekomaru matches in ease and confidence. It isn’t anything like magic or fireworks, or anything silly like that; it’s Renzou, and hugging close together in the cold night air, and it’s coming home. It’s easy, and soft, and neither of them can really keep their smiles hidden. He giggles into the kiss, and Renzou’s grin widens, and the only reason they break it is because they’re too busy laughing. 

“How long were you planning this?” he asks, affectionately.

Renzou’s cheeks are dark, and only darken further. “Would you believe me if I said I hadn’t?”

“So you just came up with all of this in the moment?” 

“Yep!” Renzou chirps. “My natural suaveness just… took over, what can I say?”

“Natural suaveness,” Konekomaru repeats, fighting down a smile. “As if you didn’t steal that off of a Hallmark movie. I’m sure I saw one with just this plot the other day.”

“Don’t expose my secrets!” He promptly ends the conversation by grabbing Konekomaru’s hand, dragging him along through the quickly-darkening forest. The bugs have all gone silent this time of year, so the only sounds are that of their feet and the leaves crunching beneath them. It’s peaceful and quiet, and it makes Konekomaru smile as he squeezes Renzou’s hand a bit tighter.

He’s thankful to see the exit of the forest just ahead of them, and the distant light of streetlamps. When they leave the forest behind, he’s a little surprised to see them in the downtown area; it’s a long street in front of them, but he recognizes the rooftops of the local coffee shops. When he looks up at Renzou, it’s to see the boy smiling again, more excitement than impishness.

“C’mon,” he whispers, as if they’re sneaking around. “It’s just down this way!”

What the mysterious ‘it’ is, he has no idea, but he trusts Renzou, and so he dutifully follows the boy down the street and into town. It’s dark and near empty around now, and he has to wonder how long their walk through the forest had taken if there are so few people walking about now. The sidewalks are empty, and even though there’s more places to walk, their hands don’t separate. He smiles down at their joined fingers—he can’t help but wonder if it’s silly that he never wants them to part.

Their journey leads them to a more secluded alley, and he prepares himself to admonish Renzou for suggesting something so salacious when he finally sees it.

It’s a cat cafe!

It’s dark, and abandoned, and clearly closed for the day, but it’s the first one he’s seen within a two hour radius! Renzou releases his hand only to hug him from behind, resting his chin on Konekomaru’s hand in a familiar and casual motion. Between the cafe, and the excited beating of Renzou’s heart against his back, Konekomaru can barely keep himself contained.

“I didn’t know there was one so close!” he gushes, practically vibrating with excitement. “How did you find this?”

“It opened up pretty recently,” Renzou answers, giving him a tender squeeze. “I found it while I was wanderin’ one day. You like?”

Konekomaru nods fervently. “I do, a lot. When… when can we go?”

“Name the day, ‘n we’ll go,” Renzou assures him.

Konekomaru is sure that he could just die happy.

**Author's Note:**

> comments and criticisms are always appreciated!


End file.
